Taiwan policewoman saves suicidal man by pretending to be his girlfriend

PHOTO: Sina Weibo

A clever ruse by authorities in Taiwan managed to help foil a man's suicide attempt.

The man, a 40-year-old surnamed Wu, was driven to desperation because he was unable to find his girlfriend.

Heartbroken, he decided to end his own life on Sunday, Dec 6, by jumping from a sixth storey ledge of an apartment building in Kaoshiung, Taiwan, reported NetEase.

When attempts to reason with Mr Wu failed, local police and rescue personnel hatched a clever plan. They got a female police officer, surnamed Zheng, to pretend to be his girlfriend.

She then called him over the phone, and shed fake tears while pleading with him to go back inside.

Ms Zheng even changed into normal clothing and made her way to a seventh floor balcony. However, the strategy failed when Mr Wu noticed that the female cop's appearance was different from his girlfriend, Apple Daily Taiwan reported.

In the end, rescue personnel were able to grab hold of the man when he was not paying attention and haul him to safety, despite a short struggle.

The rescue attempt attracted a large crowd of curious onlookers, many of whom watched and snapped pictures as police tried to stop him from jumping down.

Taiwan policewoman pretends to be man's lost GF to stop him jumping to death